phillips



E. J. G. PHILLIPS. OVERHEAD TROLLEY BRACKET Ann END cLosuRE THEEEoR.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. l0, |919,

Patented Oct. 14, 1919.

35 not only tothe bracketvbut may also be.

."UNITED sTATEs PATENT jener-E,A

lELLIS J. e. PHILLIPS, or ANONA, ILLINOIS, AssIeNoN. To RICHARDS-W'ILCOX MANU- FAGTURING COMPANY, OF AURORA, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

OVERHEAD-TROLLEY BRACKET AND END CLO'SURE THEREFOR.

T0 all whom t may concern Be it known that I, ELLIS J. Gr. PHILLIPS, a citizen of the .United States, and aresident of Aurora, in the county of Kane and State bracket. As heretofore'constructed the outer end of each of such brackets has generally been provided with pieces of sheet metal bent to `fit within the bracket and serving as a iclosure or partial closure therefor, such pieces acting yas stops for the'wheels of the end trolleys to abut against, but such pieces had no direct connection with the supporting framework to which the brackets them; selves were secured and the manner of connecting them'tothe brackets has not been of al character to aordadditional strength to thebrackets so asV to prevent them from spreading under severe blowsor shocks due to the wheels striking such pieces when the doors are moved back with force from closed position.

The principal obj ect of my invention is to provide an improved end closing device for such track-brackets which maybe secured secured to the framework to l which the bracket itself is attached, and by reason of Such connections will act as an effective stop for the trolleywheels to abut..against,gand will also .securely hold the. bracket against spreadingk .apart or becoming distorted. It

yis further an object of the invention to so construct such bracket closing members that two of them may be securedv together and to thedoorway framing at a pointy over the center ofthe doorway. and serve as an elfective stop for the meeting'edges of the two L doors that are ,used to close such doorway.

These objects I accomplish as illustrated 1n theaccompanying drawings and hereinafter particularly described. That which IKbe-yV Specification of Letters Patent.

lieve to be Anew will Abe set forth in the claims.

In the drawings Figure l is a view in front elevation of an y. y.

overhead trolley-track supported in position by brackets, the two end brackets having comblned therewith myk novel stops or blinds, and two of such stops or Vblinds `be-v Y y v Patented Oct. 14,- 1919. Application mea February 1o, 1919.- serial Napavazis.

ing shown in position for vt-he doors shown in the gure to abut against when they are in fully closed position;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the lbracket. shown at the left hand side of Fig. lk with my improvedr stop or blind in place therein; l u Flg. 3 is a perspective view of two of the stops orblinds secured together yto constitute an abutment lfor the edges of 'the doors when such doors are in closedposition, as

in Fig. 1 and- Fig. 4L is a view similar to Fig. 2, but showing a modified form of stop or blind that is *adaptedy to be used with either of the en d brackets, so as to avoidy having to make right-hand and left-hand constructions as v is the case with the devices shown in the other figures. y Y

Referring to the figures of the drawings,- 5 indicates la section of overhead trolleytrack of wellknown form which is made lof a single piece of sheet metal bent upon itself and-having Aits marginal portions inwardly turned toward each other to form rails upon which runy the Vwheels of door-supporting I carriages, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. l. `From the wheeledcarriages -re ferred to, two doors 7-r8fare shown sus# pended, as usual. The Ybrackets that sup'.- port the track are indicated by 6, and with the exception of two` oblong openings shown inthe front'wall of ,i eachbracket, and hereinafter referred to more particularly,these brackets are of ordinary construction. As shown, each comprises aI rear member and a front -member riveted ltogether, they front member being bent soas to extend over the top of the trackand down against its Vfront wall, and the lower marginal portions of theJ two parts ofthe bracket being inturned to projectunderand support the railfmembers of the` track. 9 indicates the mainorbody portiony of `oneof my improved stops or blinds, euch of the end `brackets being equipped with one of such devices. Each stop or blind is formed of a piece of .sheet and close to the rear member of the bracket,

and when the device is in place the edge of such flange will, as vshown in Fig. 2, be substantially flush with the outer edge of the bracket. From such iiangeprojects a Wide ear l1 that is off-set, as indicated at 12, suiiiciently to `bring the rear face of the ear substantially in line with the rear face of the bracket, and thus permit such ear to rest snugly against the supporting framework to which the track-brackets 6 are secured. The ear is provided with an opening 13 that permits of the passage of a screw or bolt so as to secure the stop or blind as a whole firmly to the framework. From the front edge of the member 9, and a short distance above its lower edge, projects a tongue 14. which, at a short distance from the base of the tongue, is bent laterally so that thereby is given to it an approximate hook shape. This hook shaped tongue 14 passes through an opening 15 in the front wall of the bracket 6, as best shown in Fig. 2. The bent or hook-shaped tongue 14:, is, of course,

` to be inserted in its opening 15 before the ear 11 is screwed or bolted to the framework, and it can be so inserted easily by holding the stop or blind in an inclind position within the track, after which, upon moving the bracket into the position shown in Fig. 2, and securing the ear to the Vframework, the stop or blind will be securely held connected with the bracket, as willbe understood. Securing the stop or blind in this manner to the bracket and also to the framework insures .the provision not only of an unyielding abutment for the trolley wheels to strike against, but insures the bracket itself being so braced that itis not liable to'be moved uponthe single securing bolt that passes through the bolt vhole a, and also insures against such distortion of the bracket itself that sometimes occurs when the doors are moved open with great violence. Such violent opening 'of the doors with the accompanying shock of the wheels against the ordinary stops will sometimes cause a spreading apart of the two members that constitute the bracket, but by my improved construction and arrangement such spread.u ing apart of the two members is almost impossible to effect, no matter how violently the doors are pushed open.,

I have shown each of the vvb'rzt'cket'shthe intermediate brackets as well as the end bracketsf-provided with two of the openings 15, and I prefer to so construct them, notwithstanding the fact that one of such 'openings in each of the end brackets, and both of the lopenings in the intermediate brackets, are

not made use of, but by having them all constructed alike in this manner, any one bracket may serve as the bracket for-either end, and the fact that the intermediate brackets have such openings does not in the slightest degree lessen their value as such intermediate brackets. In short, by having all of 'the brackets provided with two openings, an order for the required number of brackets for a particular job 'can be filled from the same stock of brackets, and hence there is no liability of confusion arising in sorting out brackets, particularly those intended for ends from those intended for intermediates, and furthermore, no mistakes can arise on the part of the constructor inasmuch as any one bracket is useful wherever applied.

lVhile the brackets, each provided with the two openings 15, are adapted for use in any situation, yet it is evident that the blinds or stops, as described, must be made in rights and lefts, although, as shown in Fig. 4, it is perfectly feasible to so construct them that the same blind or stop .may be used with either end brackets. I accomplish this by making the ear that atta-.ches to the framework of the full width of the narrow flange that rests against the inner face of the rear member of the bracket, and providing the screw or bolt hole in such ear centrally of the width thereof, and 'by having the turned tongue that engages the front wall'of the bracket formed so as to project from the center of the edge of the stop or blind, such ear entering one of two openings formed midway between the top and bottom of the front wall of the bracket. By so changing the construction, the same stop or blind can bev used on either end bracket, as will be readily appreciated. In Fig. 4, the same reference numerals are employed as in the'other figures, but with the addition of the letter a thereto.

Y The stops or blinds described in connection with Figs. 1 and -2 are also of peculiar advantage in forming, when two of them are secured together and the two secured centrally over the door-way, an abutment for the vinner edges of the sliding doors to come vin contact with to prevent either door from being moved past the center line of the door-way. By reference to Fig. 2, lit will-be seen that through the main or body porti-on 9 ofthe stop or blind 'is formed an openingl. Now, by placing two yof these with such openings 16 in a'linemve'nt',- and'securing them together by a bolt orrivet passed through such'openings, a device is formed that can be securely affixed to the frame-work over the door-Way by means of screws or boltspassing through the holes 13 in the oppositely-extending `tongues 1 1.

Such construction and v'arrangementpermit. the lower half of the device thus formed toV extend down into the path of the doors, and the two parts thus combined furnish a very strong stop or abutment for the inner edges of the doors to come in contact with, and in thus forming such. door stop, no change whatever has to be made in the construction of the united members, or anything done after they have been secured together other than to bolt or screw them in place above the door-Way. Indeed, by merely placing them together, and without fastening them by a bolt through the holes 16, they will act as an efficient door stop. As shown in Fig. 1, the part 17 indicates a strip secured to one of the doors and designed -to cover thecrack that would be left between the doors when both of them are moved inwardly against the stop, but such strip might Ibe omitted and, if desired, the edges of the doors near their upper ends 'be slightly notched so as to properly receive the depending portions of the stop and allow the edges of the doors to contact with each other.

It is because of the adaptability of the bracket stops to the performance of this additional function of stopping the doors that I prefer to make the stops or blinds as rights and lefts, as shown in Fig. 2, rather than making them as shown inFig. 4, for, in the first described construction, they lend themselves better when united face to face, as described, to this additional function than do the devices shown in connection with the bracket of Fig. 4, although under some conditions of use the latter construction could also be made use of as a center stop for the doors, but as I do notk contemplate so using the modified construction, I have not shown the stop or blind therein provided -vvith the hole 16, as in Fig. 2.

vWhat I claim as my invention and desire Vflange extends an attaching: eary for attachment to a 'fixed support. x

.2.V'The combination "with a trolley-track bracket havingvfront and rear walls spaced a distance r'apart andin the front wall. of whichis van opening,"of a stop located inside kof said VVbracket, said stop, having a forwardly-projecting tongue for engaging said 'opening and having a laterally-extending ear for attachment to a fixed support, said ear having an offset bend to cause its rear face tolie substantially fiush with the rear face of the bracket. Y

3. The combination with a trolley-track bracket having!A front and rear walls spaced a distance apart and having an opening in its front wall, of a stop located within the bracket and having lateral extensions from its front and rear margins, respectively', the front marginal extension passing through an opening in the front wall of the bracket with its outer end turned toward the outer end of the bracket and the rear marginal extension turned in the same direction but extending beyond the bracketto form a,

means of attachment to a fixed support, said rear marginal extension being provided with an offset bend to permit. the portion lying beyond the end of the bracket to lie substantially flush with the rear face ofthe bracket.

5. Astop for use in lconnection with overhead trolley-tracks comprising a` body portion adapted to vextend between the front and rear walls of a track-bracket and having means at its' front edge for detachably engaging the front wall of a bracket and having at its rear portion an integral later- 'ally-turned member adapted to rest for a portion of its width against the rear wall of such bracket and having an offset bend to cause the portion beyond the end of the bracket to lie substantially flush with the rear face of the bracket.

6. A device for use in connection with overhead trolley-tracks, said device comprising a body portion having a lateral projection from its front andl rear margins, respectively, said projections both extending in the same direction, one such projection adapted for engaging the front Wall of a CVI track bracket by passing through an openplaced against eachother With their respective projections extending in opposite directions', whereby a fastening device may be passed through said openings to secure the two devices together to forni a stop Jfor the inner edges of two sliding doors.

ELLIS J. G. PHILLIPS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Y Washington, D. G.

ing therein and the other adapted to project beyond the end of the bracket for attachment to a iXed support, said device having an opening through its body portion for alinenient with a similar opening in another siniilar device When such tivo devices are 

